This Is Riphop

Though they only ever released one EP in the early 80s, Manhattan's Death Comet Crew-- along with bands like ESG and Liquid Liquid-- were major innovators of New York's early 80s downtown arts scene, brazenly fusing disco, punk, techno and hip-hop for dancefloor experimentalists and would-be B-boys. 20 years later, Troubleman finally issues the long-bootlegged, never-before-released 1983 and '84 recordings that predict everything from Public Enemy production crew The Bomb Squad to Negativland's Escape from Noise.

Twentysome years before desperate postmillennial irony spawned electroclash, there was just electro. At the dawn of the 80s, urban America was an incubator of newborn aesthetics where burgeoning new genres were feverishly built up and broken down night after night. 1979 had seen the infamous "Disco Demolition" promotion at the White Sox's Comiskey Park; after a pile of dance records was ignited in center field, Chicago's rampant rock 'n' roll faithful erupted into a riot and forced a forfeit to the Tigers. In Detroit, an intrepid radio DJ named Electrifying Mojo flouted conventional genre restraints five hours a night, backing up Prince with Kraftwerk and Parliament with Tangerine Dream, while voracious listeners like Derrick May and Juan Atkins were drawing the blueprints of techno. Merely mentioning the names of New York's seminal clubs of the era-- CBGB, Studio 54, Paradise Garage, The Roxy-- evokes reveries of legendary hedonism and unbridled creativity, and their impact on current music runs deep.

Since our collective cultural hindsight seems permanently set on a two-decade span, recent interest in the glory days of urban music has left few worthy artifacts undiscovered. With Death Comet Crew, however, Troubleman has dusted off a priceless electro gem. Along with bands like ESG and Liquid Liquid, DCC was a major part of Manhattan's early 80s downtown arts scene, brazenly fusing disco, punk, techno and hip-hop for dancefloor experimentalists and would-be B-boys. Comprised of drummer/producer Stuart Argabright, guitarist Michael Diekmann, bassist/guitarist/keyboardist Shinichi Shimokawa, DJ High Priest, and MC/grafitti writer Rammellzee on occasional vocals, DCC was drawn together intermittently for shows and recording sessions in '83 and '84. This is Riphop draws material from several performances and session dates during that period.

The band's aggressively schizoid personality is split in more ways than one. Originally named Arena Sex Death (my personal favorite), then Death Star Crew (George Lucas took exception to that one), Death Comet Crew arrived at a crucial intersection of styles and created a patchwork of malevolent Frankenstein funk that has influenced a generation of DJs and producers. With live electronic drums and drawn-out sound collage sampling, they demolished the rigid breakbeat-and-loop structure that had dominated hip-hop to that point. Huge, overmiked bass drums and frantic effects-laden guitar presage The Bomb Squad's dense wall of noize that fortified Public Enemy. High Priest's booming, stream-of-conscious dialog samples set the stage for DJ Shadow's cinematic hip-hop. A seething, experimental darkness permeates the album, recalling Dälek and Kid606.

The most telling indicators of the album's old-school origins are Rammellzee's simplified delivery and a shoestring production feel to live tracks like the scratch pastiche of "Amphipet" and the new, new wave of "A King Wave Passes". These quirks, though, are more endearing than inhibiting-- after all, this hypnotic, next-level shit was actually made back before Pro Tools existed, and Rammellzee's sing-song flow blows emotional buoyancy into this weighty effort. MF Doom, in fact, owes a clear debt to his style, as well as DCC's overall dirty, ragged sound.

Songs show up in complementary pairs: Psycho-sampling "America" and "America 2" bookend the album; "Interior Street" is sparse and skeletal while the hazy "Exterior Street" takes its lead from Shimokawa's rolling bass and keys. "Funky Dream Two" and "Funky Dream One" both bounce along on the same comedic vocal sample, but "Two" is cavernous where "One" is brittle. Even with the current gush of electro and dance-punk into the indiestream, DCC easily trumps !!! and Tussle if by no other virtue than they did it first-- and Nic Offer is no Rammellzee.

Today, Tussle's sweaty, percussive dancehall punk is DCC's closest kin. Stuart Argabright remixed their "Don't Stop" for an EP early last year, and I'm betting that set the wheels in motion to get this album compiled. Death Comet Crew also reunited for a much-hyped gig in October 2003 at NYC's Knitting Factory, and are reportedly working on a new release. There couldn't be a better time for their return-- now that we can hear it, their legacy is loud and clear.